Draft rigging



Oct. 25, 1932. D. s. BARRows DRAFT RIGGING 3 Sheets-Sheet l Filed Nov. 25. 1929,

lll nNlYllll ll BUPILHUV LHnV|hMV| ATTORNEY 06` 25, @932 y VV[1,5 BARROWS 1,884,521

` DRAFT RIGGING Filed Nov. 25. 1929 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 NVENTOR .Zona/a ATTORNEY Oct. 25, 1932. D. BARRows l DRAFT RIGGING 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 rFiled Nov. 25. 1929 l Patented Oct. 25, 1932 UNITED STATES PATENT oFFicE DONALD S. BABROWS, OF IIRIOCHESTER,y NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO THE SYMINO'ON COMPANY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., .A CORPORATION OF MARYLAND DRAFT BIGGING Application filed November 25,v 1929. Serial No. 409,682.

This invention relates to draft rigging and,

\ more particularly, to such adapted to use rubber cushioning means.

The principal object of my invention, generally considered, is to provide a car underframe in which the vdratt sills are mounted for a limited amount of sliding or relative movement with respect to the rest of the car underframe, and in which such movement is cushioned preferably by mechanism using rubber as the energy absorbing element, for` cushioning, not only relative movement of Vthe sills, but also relative movement of the coupler with respect to said sills.

Another object of my invention is to provide a railway draft rigging involving sills movably mounted with respect to the remainder of the underframe and supportingcouplers with rubber for cushioning the pre- 20 liminary movement of the couplers with respect to the sills, and rubber likewise serving to cushion the relative movement of the sills with respect to the underframe.

A further Obj ect of my invention is to pro` vide a railway underframe in which the draft sills are adapted to move relative to the remaining portions thereof, said sills being connected adjacent their ends by a combined striking castin and sill tie member, and backstop mem ers forming therebetween pockets for receiving coupler stems and asso-v ciated preliminary cushioning mechanism, said striking castings being formed witlc removable carrier blocks to permit the inserf tion and removable of the butts of swivel butt couplers, said backstop members having slotted Aextensions to reinforce the sills for the reception of draft keys for connecting said couplers thereto, said extensions having inwardly extending flanges forming vpockets to receive associated followers, the space., between said baclrstop and followers serving to accommodate preliminary cushioning mechanism for said couplers.

5 A still further object of my invention is'to provide railway draft rigging involving sills movably mounted with respect to the remainder ofthe underframe with tie rods connected to the underframe and cushioning 50, mechanism, said sills having inwardly extending lugs engaging said cushioning mechanism upon movement in either direction to cushion relative movement of said sills.

- An additional object of my invention is the employment of rubber as an energy absorbing element and cushioning means for use in railway draft gears, either for cushioning the relative movement of the couplersthe relative movement of the sills with respect to the remainder ofthe underframe, or both movements. 1 i Other objects and advantages of the invention relating to the particular arrangement and construction of the various parts will become apparent as the description proceeds.

Referring to the drawings illustrating my invention, the scopewhereof is deiined by the appended claims. Figure l is a plan partly in horizontal section of the end portion of a railway vehicle underframe particularly showing the relatively movable sills and the associatedcoupier.

Figure 2 is acentral vertical longitudinal sectional view of the construction shown in Figure l, tliecoupler and preliminary cushioning mechanism being shown in side elevation.

Figure 3 is a plan partly in horizontal sec- I 'the line 6-6 of Figure 2, looking in the direction of the arrows, the associated draft lrey being shown in elevation.

Figure 7 is a transverse sectional view on the line '7e-Z of Figure 4 looking in the direction of the arrows.

Figure 8 is an end elevation of one of the elements of the main rubber spring cushioning mechanism, portions thereof being breiten away to more clearly show the construction.

y slidably mounted t e draft sill assembly involvin longitudinal draft sills 6, in the present em odiment shown as channels with outwardly extending ianges 7, the upper flanges resting directly on the liange portions 4 of the bracket castings 3, whereby relative movement therebetween develops friction at the engaging surfaces. The sills 6 are preferabl connected together by top cover plates 8 an bottom cover plates 9 and at their ends have preferably applied thereto combined striking castings and sill tie members 10.

Connecting the sills 1 intermediate the ends thereof are bolster center filler castings 11 dis osed between the bolster cover plates 12 an 13 and the bolster transoms 14 which extend outwardly from the framing sills 1. The center filler castings 11 are apertured, as indicated at 15, for the passage of the draft sills 6, the lower fianges 16 of which desirably rest on supporting portions 17 of said filler castings, so that friction is developed upon relative movement therebetween. Said apertures 15 are desirably extended, as indicated at 18, to rovide for relative movement of the draft ugs 19 which are preferably connected to the sills 6 b rivets or the like 20. A center plate 21 may e connected to the bottom bolster cover plate 13 beneaththe center filler casting 11.as is usual.

For cushloning relative movement of the draft sills 6 with respect to the underframe and the framin sills 1 and filler castings 11 therebetween, Igprovide, in the present embodiment, spring assemblies 22 preferably formed as a serles of metal plates 23 Se arated by resilient rubber disks or annular ads 24, each pad 24 being preferably interocked with respect to a metal plate or disk 23 by having sections 25 on either side of an associated plate connected -by integral portions 26 extending through corresponding apertures 27 in said plate. Each rubber ring assembly 23 and 24 is preferably entirely separated from an adjacent assembly by an intervening Aplate or disk 28 which is not connected to any rubber disk. Each assembly 22, comprising a series of rubber `plates and disksseparated by otherwplates, is desirably mounted on a tie rod 29,'two of which are desirably connected to each filler casting 11 as by vmeans of pins 30, locked in place by cotters :,ssssai 31, extending through rearwardly extending flanges 32 provided with-apertures 33 registerin with an eye 34in an end of each tie rod 9. The spring assemblies 22 are desirabl lprovided with followers 35 and 36, each o ower being desirably formed with a 'air of apertures 37 receiv the two ad- ]acent tie rods 29, so that the ollowin connect the rods transversely and unite t e adjacent assemblies, as illustrated particularly 1n Figure 3. l

In the embodiment illustrated the'tie rods 29 are elon ated horizontally with the ends larger t an the .intermedlate portions to allow for the apertures 34 at the front ends and slots 38 at therear ends receiving keys or other retaining means 39 for holding the rubber spring assemblies in place preferably under a slight initial compression. In order to assemble the metal disks or plates 23 and 28 on the rods 29, while at the same y time using the rods to properly position the disks, the holes 40 in said disks are desirably elongated, as indicated at 41, so that the disks will slip over the heads 42 of the tie rods 29, and after application to said tie rods, said disks are then desirably rotated so that they fit the intermediate portions of the rods with very little play. It will be noted that the apertures 40 1n saiddisks are offset with respect to the periphery thereof, so that when assembled, the rubber cushioning material is disposed outwardly with respect to the axes of the .rods 29. For centering the rods, followers and spring assemblies, while not interfering with relative movement therebetween, cover plates 43 and 44 are desirably provided connected to the upper and lower flanges of the sills 6 and with inwardly embossed portions 45 extending close to the spring assemblies 22.

In order to stress the spring assemblies 22 upon relative movement of the sills 6, said sills in addition to the front lugs 19 are provided with rear lugs 46, which normally engage the rear follower 36. It will thus be seen thatwhen the sills 6 are pulled outwardly with respect to the underframe, the lugs 46 engage the followers 36 and compress the rubber spring assembly 22 against the front follower 35 and center filler casting 11. When the sills are pushed rearwardly' with respect to the underframe, the front draft lugs 19 engage the front follower 35 compressing the spring assembly 22 against the rear follower 36 and keys 39, placing the rods 29 in tension and transmitting the force through the pins 30 to the casting 11 and 'uni derframe of the car. Y

In the embodiment illustrated, I Vhave shown intermediate portions of the sills 6 connected by' combined backstop and cheek plate castings 47, which castings preferably comprise side walls 48 connected to the webs of the sills 6 by means of rivets or the like 49 and slotted, as indicated at 50, to reinforce the corresponding slotted portions in the webs of the sills 6 which receive a draft key 51 connecting a coupler 52 to the sills 6. The slots through which the key 51 passes are preferably slightly longer than the length of said key so as to allow the desired amount of relative movement of said coupler for stressing the associated preliminary cushioning mechanism 53.

In the present embodiment the coupler 52 is illustrated as of the swivel butt type with a swivel block or butt member 54'pivoted lo the stem of the coupler 52 by a pivot pin 55 retained in place in any desired manner as c by means of a ledge portion 56 vonthe swivel `block 54 underlying the lower end-thereof and by means of a cotter 57 extending between lugs 58 and overlying the top end thereof. The connecting key 5f preferably extends through 'a slot 59 formed partly in Athe stem of thecoupler and partly yin the swivel block 54.

The butt or rear face of the swivel block 54 desirably engages a front follower 60 dis-- posed between inwardly extending flanges 61 and 62 on the casting 47, whereby relative l limited movement thereof is permitted for the compression of the preliminary cushioning mechanism 53. In the present embodiment I have shown such cushioning mechanism as involving rubber disks or annular members 63 and 64 mounted on metallic plates or disks 65 in a manner similar to the mounting of the rubber elements 24 on their associated disks and separated by other metal plates 66, the assembly being held at the desired elevation by a carry iron 67 connected l to the sills 6 and centered transversely by the flanges 62 and ribbing 68 extending therefrom to the backstop or transverse wall portion 69 of the casting 47. Said backstop or y wall portion 69 is desirably reinforced by a tapering gusset or web portion 70 extending between theside wall portions 48 and said transverse wall portion 69.

In order to provide for insertion and rei Imoval of the enlarged butt of the coupler 52,

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a carrier b lock 71 of substantial height is desirably disposed upon the carrier iron portion 72 of the combined casting 10 and held in place in any desired manner as by means of a transverse bolt 73 and nut 74. In order to permit longitudinal movement of the coupler 52 and allow for the extended lugs 58 on the top of the swivel block, the cover plate 8 is desirably upwardly embossed, as indicated at 75. In order to increase the wearing area at the edge of said cover plate and the edges of the flanges 7 of the sills 6, wearing elements or angle pieces 76 are desirably secured to the edges. of said members, as shown most clearly in Figure 6. Y In said figure, it will be seen that transverse movement of the sills 6 is limited by the upright portions 77 of the castin 3, while upward movement thereof is limited by the depending inward portions 78 of said castings.

The operation of the mechanism heretofore l bun'ing force is applied to the other coupler,

as will'be understood.

`When bufhng force, however, is applied to the coupler 52, the first eect is to move the coupler inwardly with respect to the sills 6, said coupler sliding on the key 51 to the permitted extent and said key sliding in the slot- 50, at the same time moving the front follower 60 rearwardly to compress the preliminary cushioning means against the backstop casting47. When the preliminary rubber spring cushioning means has been compressed to an extent corresponding with the force necessary to overcome the frictional resistance between the sills 6 and the supporting portions of the underframe, relative movement then takes place between the sills 6 and said underframe withV a consequent rearward movement of the lugs 19 and front follower 35 to compress. the rubber spring assembly 22 against the rear follower 36 and keys 39, placing the tie rods 29 under tension and transmitting the force to the center filler casting 11 of the underframe through the ins 30. The main cushioning mechanism not shown) at the other end of the car is also stressed, but in a manner corresponding to that when the other coupler is subjected to draft forces. It will therefore be seen that on account of having the sills continuous between the ends of the car and movable with respect to the underframe, when relative movement takes place, the cushionin mechanism disposed between said sills'a-n underframeis stressed not only at the .end of the car from which the force comes but also at the other end.

From the foregoing, it' will be seen that I have devised an improved underframe and the actionof bufng forces, which, .as is well known, are apt to be more destructive than draft forces. 1

4 asaaaiY Although I have shown a construction involving resilient. rubber as the cushioning means and energy absorbing medium, because of its well known desirable properties for this purpose, it will be unde that certain advantages of my invention may .be accomplished when using other cushioning means than rubber and I wish to be limite only by the spirit and scope of the appended claims, as modifications may be made without departing from the broad aspect of my inventlon. It will also be understood that althou h I have onl shown one end of the underg'ame and cus ioning mechanism contained therein, yet the mechanism at the other end is desirably, though not necessarily, simllar to that shown, so that the cushioning capacity dis osed between the movable sills and the remainder of the underframe may be double that of the mechanism shown in Figures 3 and 4.

It will be noted that by having rubber disosed between a series of plates rather than 1n the form of a large mass, said rubber is retained in the desired sha without being ueezed or distorted to a estructive extent, w ile at the same time, when said rubber is com ressed, a considerable partof the energy app 'ed thereto is dissipated internally as heat, thereby materially reducing the recoil without the use of friction elements. It will also be understood that the recoil of course is additionally reduced on account of the sliding and therefore frictional engagement between the movable sills and the remainder of the underframe.

Having now described my invention, I claim:

1. In railway draft rigging, sills movably mounted with respect to the remainder of the underframe, a combined striking casting and coupler carrier member connected to the ends of said sills a carrier block mounted therein and adapted for removal to permit the inser-v tion of the butt of a swivel butt coupler, a

Uswivel butt cou ler mounted ,between said sills, a key exten ing through registering slots in said coupler and sills, the slots in said sills being longer than said key to permit a limited amount of relative movement therebetween, and rubber cushioning means disposed between the butt of said coupler and a transverse member extending between said sills for cushioning the relative movement of said coupler.

2. In railway draft rigging, draft sills slidably mounted with respect to the remainder 1 of the underframe, a coupler, a key connecting said coupler and sills, tie rods connected to the underframe, series of alternately spacedrubber and metal plate elements mounted on saidjtie rods, followers engaging the oppositel ends of said series of rubber and plate elements, one of said followers normally enga the other normally engaged by connecting spect to the remainder of the underframe, a

pair of supporting rods connected to a relatively fixed portion of the underframe, series of alternately spaced resilient rubber and metal plate elements mountedon esaid rods, followers mounted on said rods and enga ing the opposite ends of said series, each fo lower having tw apertures, 'each of which receives one rod, whereby said rods are connected by said followers, one of said followers normally engaging a stop portion on the underframe, and the other connected to the free ends of said rods, guiding means for said seriesl of rubber and metal plate elements connected to the upper and lower edges of said sills, and lng means mounted on said sills and adapted to respectively engage said fol- .lowers when the sills are moved in one direction or the other with respect to the remainder of the underframe.

4. In railway draft rigging, draft sills, a I

combined striking casting and coupler carrier member connected to adjacent ends of said sills, a carrier block mounted on said coupler carrier member and adapted for removal to permit the insertion of an enlarged butt of an associated coupler, a coupler with an enlnrged butt mounted between said sills, means extending through registering slots in said coupler and sills, the slots'in said sills being longer than the key to permit a limited amount of relative movement therebetween, and rubber cushioning means disposed between the butt o f the coupler and a backstop member connected to said sills for cushioning the relative movement of said coupler.

5. In railway draft rigging, draft sills slidably mounted vwith respect to the remainder of the underframe, a coupler, a key connecting said coupler and sills, tie rods connected to the underframe, rubber cushioning means mounted on said tie rods, followers engaging the opposite ends of said rubber cushioning .means, one of said followers normally en aginga stop portion on the underframe an the other normally engaged by connecting portions on the tie rods, and lug means mounted on said sills and engaging said followers so thatrelative movement of said sills with resrpect to the underframe in either direction actuates said cushionin means.

In testimony whereo I aiiix m si ature.

` DONALD-S. BA R WS.

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